Getting Started With Kids Scuba Diving Lessons

When planning a family vacation to a tropical place like Maui, it may occur to an individual to pursue scuba diving lessons while there. If there are children that are younger than ten, they will not be able to be involved in the lessons so the parents will need to ensure that they have other activities planned while the rest of the family participates in the lessons. If the children are ten or older, there are kids' scuba diving lessons available through many different professional diving organizations.

Limitations and Considerations

One limitation on kids' scuba diving lessons is that children between the ages of ten and twelve will have to be accompanied by a parent who is already certified in scuba diving. Otherwise the child will not be able to participate in the kids' scuba diving lessons due to the risks involved in the sport. For children who are between the ages of twelve and fourteen, the entire family can start the lessons together since the child only has to be with a certified adult, which is then the instructor. Children who are under fifteen years of age will not be able to get a full open water diving certification, but will have certain restrictions on their certification. For instance, a child between the ages of ten and twelve will always have to be accompanied by a certified parent and can only dive to a certain depth. Children that are between twelve and fourteen can dive as deep as adults but have to be with a certified adult at all times. Once a child reaches fifteen he can get his open water diving certification to dive alone (with parent's permission of course!)

One consideration about kids' scuba diving lessons is that the child might be afraid of going under the water and learning to breathe using the breathing apparatus. It is a good idea for the child to go with his parents to a local scuba diving company and ask if they have a demonstration diving experience in a local pool. This demonstration experience will allow the child to do a basic dive in a shallow pool with the equipment to see if he likes it or not. This is helpful to do before buying the lessons, especially if the lessons were going to be done during a family vacation. These demonstration dives are helpful to adults as well, giving them the experience diving to see if they are really interested in learning the sport.